Etienne de Rocher
Etienne de Rocher | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Tuscaloosa, AL |
| Years active | unknown |
| Website | EtiennedeRocher.com |
Etienne de Rocher is a San Francisco based singer songwriter who plays a unique blend of rock, hip-hop, jazz, and funk.
History
(excerpts from Etienne's autobiography)
The Past
"I was raised in Tuscaloosa, Alabama by a French mother and an American father. I spent my summers creek-walking with my brother, drawing space colonies, capturing small animals, and making stuff with whatever I could find.
At twelve, my father brought home a Casiotone and my musical life began. I couldn’t play a thing, but I enlisted two cassette decks as a crude multi-track studio and began creating my first songs using the built-in drum machine and the two chords I had stumbled upon.
Meanwhile, my older sister was hanging out with the wrong kids at school and bringing home lots of strange records, including Pink Floyd's Relics, which was so old and freaky sounding to my ears. It was like a children's record on acid.
Two years later, a long season of mowing my neighbors hissing summer lawns afforded me a four track and an electric guitar so ugly I hung it from the clothesline and doused it with spray paint. I still couldn’t play much, but I kept recording my stupid little songs.
In high school my musical interests were put aside as I was showing promise as some kind of scientist. Tests were taken, letters were written, and before long I found myself in the honors Physics program at U.C. Berkeley, quietly wondering if I could spend the rest of my life studying a single sub-atomic particle. I quickly found refuge in an African drumming class where I met my share of crusty deadheads and jazz geeks, including future collaborator Andrew Borger.
After wising up and quitting school, I got a job as a “super” in a downtown Oakland apartment building, where I secretly constructed a recording studio in a basement storage room. Two months later I was spray-painting a limited run of 57 demo tapes for my garage band C.O.B., replete with a cover of Captain Beefheart's Drop Out Boogie. The bizarre production and hooky, off-the-wall songwriting lent the tape some kind of cult-like status on the local scene. I was suddenly on the map.
After a handful of tragic and legendary shows, the band imploded and I was once again alone in my basement, free to explore my new alter-ego as a stoned-out soul crooner. My first breakthrough was a lilting, psychedelic romp called Lazy Bones which I quickly pressed on 7" vinyl and “released” to friends, fans, and Aquarius Records in San Francisco, where the hand-printed cover art caught the eye of Capitol Record's scout Ann Cook. Phone calls were made, flights were booked, and soon enough I found myself across the table from the suits, demanding creative freedoms only given to the likes of Bob Dylan and Neil Young. Needless to say, the deal fell apart and I was labeled “the wunderkind who walked away” in a local press flurry.
Indie by default, I began work on a new song cycle with C.O.B. alumnus Andrew Borger and kidnapped bassist Jon Erickson, with conscript Greg “Amy Gee” Moore on backing vocals. In the DIY spirit, we converted our rehearsal space into a fledgling recording studio which we christened Casa de Eva. We carefully tracked what would eventually become the full length Sipsey Cane. And though it was never released, we sold hundreds of hand-burned CDRs at shows. The slow-burning, hypnotic "Galaxy" apparently made it on to more than one “make out” compilation and the melancholic "Out to Sea" (included on the SF based Fortune Cookies compilation) was singled out for rotation on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic show.
Unfortunately, amid this success and a crisis of confidence, my band was slowly dissolving. Andrew was touring with Tom Waits and would soon be scooped up by Norah Jones, while Jon Erickson was starting Helsing Audio in Southern California."
The Now
"I had no band, no label, no money, and a book of songs and ideas I’d been nursing along for several months.
Unbeknownst to me, a year prior music archivist and producer Dave Schwartz had prepared a compilation of my works for Fog City Records' head Dan Prothero, who I remembered from my beat-digging days as the creator of the Bulldog Breaks series, the secret fuel behind many a rap track. Dan was looking to branch out from producing the rare-groove-jazz and swamp-funk he'd been known for and I needed a partner in crime. It was an unlikely match, but unlike other producers I'd talked to, he had actually listened to all my recordings and liked my sound (rather than give it the "A&R" listen, which means you press fast forward if you don't hear a hook in five seconds).
Bandless, I was forced to return to my one-man-band M.O. and work on what would become the six minute opus "Ghetto Zen Master," a sprawling multi-genre piece complete with George Clintonesqe narration, a “We Will Rock You” stomp track, and a sitar solo. After several weeks of tweaking (not methamphetamine tweaking, but mixing board tweaking), we slated it for internet release with an animated video, but my search for an animator came up dry. The song was shelved...
Meanwhile, word of my bandless status somehow brought forth an unforeseen bounty of A-list collaborators. Wunderbassist Todd Sickafoose (Ani diFranco, Nells Cline, Noe Venable) was first on board, followed by CAKE alumnus Todd Roper on drums. A string section comprised of cellist Marika Hughes and violinist Alan Lin was added, while sit-ins by gunslingers Jim Campilongo, Chuck Prophet, Dave Immergluck and keyboard taste-meister Rob Burger lent the band a soulful, mature musicality seldom heard since 1972. Clearly, the time had come to commit this ensemble to the wonders of analog tape.
A map of the San Francisco Bay Area was requisitioned and covered with an array of pushpins representing various studios up to the task. Pastoral isolation was a must to escape the rigors and trappings of urban life while producer Dan Prothero had certain vintage gear requirements. We settled on Prairie Sun Studios, birthplace of Tom Waits's Mule Variations. Special foods were prepared, and help was summoned. The Todd & Todd rhythm section was buttressed by potty-mouthed percussionist Dan Morris, while engineering duties went to the perpetually easy-going Justin Phelps. Docu-mensch Velvy Appleton and ostrich-herder Dave Schwartz joined the party mid-stream. Everyone there seemed to have that strange manic energy you get when something special is going down. We tracked, ate, and slept for 5 days. By the end of the sessions, the mood in the control room was of elation and exhaustion.
Everyone else thought we had a record, but next to the roughs from Prairie Sun, a few of my orphaned basement studio tracks suddenly seemed relevant. I was vanquished to work on my own while Dan made arrangements with Jose Alvarez, Mission roustabout and keeper of The Catacombs, a magical warehouse nestled in the squalor of Capp Street in San Francisco, frequented by Chuck Prophet, Charles Atlas, and other vibe-seeking locals. Here I was allowed to pursue some of my more ambitious ideas, including the album keystone "Juniper Rose." A few weeks and many burritos later, the album was ready for mastering. The rest, my friends, is what is happening right now."
Discography
Studio albums
-
Self Titled (February 2006) -
Lazybones (Release Date Unknown)
